Who decided that we now call Orientals, Asians?

and what gives people from another country the right to dictate how we speak? That would be arrogant as hell of them to insist on being called Asian, anyhow. Near sixty percent of the earth's population live on the Asian continent, so what makes them more Asian/special than the Arabs, Russians etc..?

Maybe for some reason some do not like the word Oriental, but one single group can't rightfully hold the claim to "Asians." If a person told me the word Oriental was in any way offensive to him/her, I wouldn't use it out of respect. But, if we're going to be PC, lets go all the way.

that 60% of the worlds population is wrong

i don't know where you live, but in the UK for example, people from other countries do dictate how people speak (studies have proved that areas with a large "xxxx" community have altered the way non-"xxxx" speak today)

and i'm not sure if you would consider this to be dictating, but do you remember when afro-americans were negros?


.,

"was in any way offensive to him/her, I wouldn't use it out of respect" seems like a reasonable statement. Most of us (I hope) use that sort of behavior to get along in the world.

For whatever reason, many newpapers have gone to "Black" (note the capital), which is at least shorter than "Afro-American". And it lets the story be about all the Blacks in a group, including the non-Americans.

Problem is, people don't follow the lead of their two religions- the bible and the bumper sticker. (Heb 10:34,35, and "United We Stand".) "Worshiping" either one, in this case, would bring much more peace than we have presently.

I believe the correct (or PC ) term would be 'Ignorant.'

I surely remember and the term isn't completely gone. It was used much in my youth as a reference to the race and not a slur of it. I'd say what's more important is the intention of the person using the word than the word itself. When we grow accustomed to certain usages that become part of our normal vocabulary and are suddenly told we are being offensive....we get defensive. I think that's a normal reaction. I remember my own family members correcting others who had used the "n" word saying "No, they are negros not..........". It's often, IMO, wrong to try to judge the folks of the past by applying the standards of today and considering them as villains. Too much of that goes on.

and in many languages the word "negro" refers to the color black. That word didn't originate in the US.

older, and perhaps most original term most widely today considered not PC I understand to be the Latin term for the color black.

So often we let out ignorance and frustrations dictate how we perceive others. We need to just get over selves. If we could accomplish that, I believe we'd all find the time and patience to learn how to love and respect each other, as we should.

I still recall one Horton Foote play about an elegant mother trying to teach her daughter to be more racially sensitive. She told the girl:
"We must'nt call them '(N-word);' we call them "darkies!' "

-- Dave K, Speakeasy Moderator
click here to email semods4@yahoo.com

The opinions expressed above are my own,
and do not necessarily reflect those of CNET!

Perhaps he was referring to the Asian population which is nearly 60% of the would population.

Black people are offended by the terms n i g g e r, ****** and niggardly regardless of meaning or context. In view of the past shouldn't it be OK for them to feel that way?

Mexicans are offended by the terms w e t b a c k and s p i c. I don't blame them. Do you?

Italians are offended to be called w o p s. I don't blame them either. Do you?

While you may not mean the term oriental to be derogatory that doesn't mean that others haven't made Asians feel like it is. They should be just as entitled to feel offended as any of the groups above.


Mods,
It is not my intent to test the TOS with the terms used above. They are not used in any context that should offend anyone. If you feel differently feel free to delete this post.

Clay

i can't keep up with whats right & whats wrong anymore,for example: the 'n' word you referred to in your post has,as ive understood it,to be one of the worst things you could call a black person,which is totally understandable to me. But what i don't get is that here in the UK that very same word is now used as a term of affection & respect & brotherhood! When i first heard my son call one of his black friend's 'n' i thought i was hearing things! But apparently is widely used among teenagers over here & is not a slur' However im sure their parent's wouldn't agree!
A teenage girl in Big Brother,the reality game show over here,used the 'n' word in the context that iv just mentioned above,but she was swiftly evicted from the house! So i just think its totally confusing these days

seems only ok when used by persons of the race who once were reviled by it. It's become more an enigma than anything else as to how to treat that. I had the opportunity to see two US worlds as a kid. My father was from the north and mom a southerner...born to a preacher and his wife. We'd travel between the two grandparents homes get lessons in culture. As for the "n" word itself, I was taught that it was a mispronunciation of the word "Negro" in some dialects such as the old south in the US. It's well published that these folks didn't consider African slaves as being much more than working animals. As such, being referenced as a Negro by these folks would carry a different connotation than what it would mean in other parts of the US at that time. I doubt many have read the dictionary cover to cover so learn the definitions of words by their usage on the street. That language changes with each generation and it's hard to keep up. I remember pipes and joints as referring to plumbing.

but its probably evolved a little because my son is white..go figure?
Do you really think then that the word negro is a mispronunciation? I was always under the impression that 'n' was the really bad slur going back to the days of slavery,and that the enlightened few used the word negro (short for the dictionary term negroid) as a more respectful term. Like you say though language changes with each generation. We were brought up to call black people coloured's,which is now offensive,and for obvious reason's really. But back then it was a respectful way of addressing someone. So in the end a couple of years back i asked my friend,what do you consider acceptable? She said simply Black is absolutely fine. But that might have changed again??

New words and new meanings for existing words do not come from the dictionary. They are added to the dictionary after they become popular enough to add. Language is dynamic and ever changing.

We have a new one added..Chav!

I looked up 'chav'.

I was referring to the forbidden "n" word. I remember my southern relatives mispronouncing Negro and it came out something like Nigre (short i and silent e) They didn't pronounce the trailing "O". It was the dialect which wasn't the Queen's English. Slurring the word by doubling the g and ending in er would produce the dreaded "n" word. This was actually explained to me by my southern grandmother, as I recall. Grandmothers don't lie.

"Nigru" with the u sounding like "uh".

Or at least they don't want us to know.

so I suspect that's the original word. And the "N" word is probably a corruption of "Nigra," which is how "Negro" often sounds when spoken with a Southern accent. Way back when, neither term was actually offensive -- but then some started to intentionally differentiate the two words...

-- Dave K, Speakeasy Moderator
click here to email semods4@yahoo.com

The opinions expressed above are my own,
and do not necessarily reflect those of CNET!

Black is schwartz auf Deutsch, noir in French. Why the Spanish word is our common word for in English, I don't know off had....possibly from slave trading days??? will need to look that up.

[Spanish and Portuguese negro, black, Black person, from Latin niger, nigr-, black; see nekw-t- in Indo-European roots.]

But the Romans were not sailors and those who were, Spanish, Portuguese, etc. gave the name to Africans....probably by most visible characteristic distinguishing them from dark skinned people. I thought it was interesting the word "negro" was preferred by some African Americans to "black". After all the scuffling in the '60s & '70 as to what was appropriate, the non-English word for the same color was deemed more acceptable in some circles. As for what is and is not derogatory, it would seem to me that color reference is by far more benign than most others. But, the word "black" does have many literary uses that symbolize evil... most likely because that's the color we are surrounded by when it's dark... and we feel most vulnerable and fearful. Seems reasonable to me.

"sur" is Spanish for "south"

"negro means "black" in Spanish (and other Romance languages).

Sheesh!

who would then likely have to "admit" that Caucasoid meant North and Mongoloid meant East.

Thought that you claimed to be a Latin speaker. If so you would be aware of where the Spanish word negro originated as well as the phonetic corruption common in Latin derived languages. Nigrum would be loudly ringing a bell in Nigeria regarding Negros.

other members. Why do you need to do the same? Am I wrong if I say that the only reason you had to get into this sub thread was to keep mocking Dave? Don't you have a lawn to mow or dishes to do? Anything!

I was about to post a correction too, but when I saw that others already had made a remark on it I thought that was enough.